A soldering apparatus may capture an image of a soldering area and then use the image momentarily for comparison against a reference image to determine whether an abnormality in soldering is present or absent. If present, further processing of the substrate can be halted. If absent, the substrate can be allowed to proceed to subsequent steps in manufacturing and transportation. However, abnormalities may also arise during subsequent steps, particularly after the substrate has been shipped out of the manufacturing facility. After shipping, images of the substrate are no longer available for review in the event that an abnormality is reported by a customer, and the manufacturer cannot investigate until the substrate is returned to the manufacturing facility. Also, since images have not been saved and associated with particular substrates and specific locations on a substrate, the manufacturer may not be able to confirm whether the abnormality or defect occurred during the soldering process or after shipping. Another issue is that the criteria of identifying abnormalities may differ from person to person. Thus, a customer may regard a substrate as having an abnormality even if the soldering apparatus has determined that no abnormality was present. When the manufacturer desires to improve its identification criteria in response to customer reports of abnormalities, it is difficult to make improvements without the ability to refer to images taken during the soldering process. Accordingly, there is a need for a soldering apparatus and method that address the above needs, such as those that that allow for rapid confirmation of an abnormal area of a substrate when a problem is reported after the substrate is shipped away.